{"id":3283,"date":"2026-05-11T10:16:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/?p=3283"},"modified":"2026-05-15T09:27:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:27:42","slug":"garden-2026-may-april-showers-bring-may-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/garden-2026-may-april-showers-bring-may-flowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Garden 2026, May: April Showers Bring May Flowers?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

May 14, 2026 – Unseasonably Cool Weather, May 14, 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Slow growth in our “weather garden” front to rear casrrots, radishes, black-seeded lettuce and garden beans<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Despite the cooler-than-anticipated temperatures that have caused a noticeable slowdown in the overall growth within our garden this month, we are pleased to share some encouraging updates on the progress of our springtime plantings. While the plants may be taking their time to fully flourish, we are already starting to see positive signs of life, particularly with our garden beans, which have successfully sprouted. Additionally, we are anticipating a very near harvest of our Simpson Black-Seeded Lettuce, a welcome addition to our kitchen table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Daytime temperatures have been barely into the 60s and night time temps have been into the 30s<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Today’s gardening activities include sowing seeds for summer squash and cucumbers, marking a key step in preparing for a bountiful harvest. In addition to this, we are acclimating our young red pepper plants, ensuring they gradually adjust to outdoor conditions, setting the stage for a productive pepper crop this season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our Flag Irises bloomed a little later than nornal<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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May 2, 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Dandelions adding color to our lawn and food for early emerging pollinators<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Welcoming dandelions as a sign of spring, rather than seeing them as weeds needing herbicide, is a healthy choice. Dandelions provide food for pollinators, essential for our strawberries and garden vegetables. Avoiding pesticides and herbicides results in a healthy lawn that can support rabbits and robins. Rabbits eat the “weeds,” and robins eat grubs and caterpillars, keeping our lawn healthy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Suburban <\/em>Stripes” after cutting the lawn<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Our Outdoor Gardens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Electric tiller makes quick work preparing “maggies farm'” for planting<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This past April presented a rather unusual blend of weather, featuring pockets of surprisingly warm, summery days juxtaposed with the unwelcome reality of several frosts. Undeterred by this unpredictable climate, we moved forward with our spring planting endeavors, focusing on establishing a diverse range of crops. Specifically, we planted bush beans, pumpkins, and sunflowers, all with the optimistic goal of outsmarting any lingering threat of a late frost. In addition to these main plantings, we also took the opportunity to thoroughly fill out our existing rows of lettuce and radishes, ensuring a bountiful harvest of these quick-growing greens. Beyond the established garden beds, our attention also extended to the indoor starter trays, where we are diligently implementing a gradual acclimation process. These young seedlings are being carefully introduced to outdoor conditions, spending increasing amounts of time outdoors on sunny days, thereby preparing them for their eventual transplanting into the garden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With May’s lingering threat of overnight frost warnings still casting a shadow, we are exercising caution and postponing the planting of our carefully nurtured, indoor-sown tomato plants, patiently awaiting the arrival of consistently warmer temperatures. Despite this, the garden is already showing signs of vibrant life. We are delighted to observe the emergence of our garden beans, signaling the start of a bountiful harvest, while the Simpson Black Seeded Lettuce and radishes are thriving, their lush greens and vibrant colors adding an optimistic touch to the garden beds. Capitalizing on the gradually increasing temperatures and the welcome spring rains, we’ve also extended our culinary options by setting out containers brimming with fresh dill and parsley, their fragrant leaves promising to enhance our meals. Adding a touch of whimsy and potential bounty to our outdoor space, we have planted pumpkins and sunflowers in our ledge garden, which borders the driveway, anticipating their cheerful blooms and eventual harvests in the coming months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our garden beans are sprouting<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cherry tomatoes ransplante outdoors in pots<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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We are very excited to share that the process of transitioning our indoor seedlings to their permanent outdoor summer residences has officially begun! The first batch to make the move were our vibrant cherry tomatoes, carefully lifted from their cozy indoor starter trays and gently settled into their own, larger outdoor pots. We can already envision these plump, juicy cherry tomatoes bursting with flavor, perfectly complementing fresh summer salads and adding a delightful touch to our favorite summer squash dishes. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 14, 2026 – Unseasonably Cool Weather, May 14, 2025 Despite the cooler-than-anticipated temperatures that have caused a noticeable slowdown in the overall growth within our garden this month, we are pleased to share some encouraging updates on the progress … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,18,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-garden-2026-nj_home_gardening","category-north_jersey_living","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3283"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3332,"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3283\/revisions\/3332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rt23.com\/hgjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}